Summer is Here!

As today is Memorial Day and it is typically considered the start of summer by many people, I figured I would throw up a quick and dirty summer reading post - be it beach reading or some high brow lit, summer is as good of time as any to get some reading done. What I am looking forward to? What is scheduled to be released that looks good? Here are my picks, what I am looking forward to, and an observation or two for some summer reading...

OK, first up, the book you should take to the beach with you - Flipping Out by Marshall Karp. In my review I am pretty sure I told everyone to read it, but now that you are heading for a weekend of sand and relaxation, I believe this is the best new book out I can recommend for such purposes (but if you hate the beach, as I do, give it a shot anyhow). Other possibilities include (books I have not read, but seem to fit the bill) James Petterson’s Swimsuit, The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly, The Devil’s Punchbowl by Greg Iles.

In need of a comic book instead? If you have not tried Fables yet, you need to so. As I patiently wait for Volume 12 to be released, you can buy yourself Volume 1: Legends in Exile and start from the beginning, but prepare to be hooked! Besides that I highly recommend DMZ by Brian Woods and Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (pick up the big ass compendium edition to get a whole lot of story in one place). Both series are highly addicting and readable.

What book coming out this summer am I looking forward to most? That’s an easy one - Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. I am a total geek for Pynchon and this book looks to be more accessible than some of his work. I will most likely buy this book the instant it is released and then sit it on my nightstand for a couple weeks trying to psyche myself up to be baffled, stimulated, confused, inspired, and entertained.

How about some summertime Speculative Fiction? I know I will be reading plenty within the genre this summer... I am currently reading The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick. Other books that are catching my eye for this summer - Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, The City & The City by China Mieville, The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson, and The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

And to end on a light note - what am I NOT looking forward to? The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown... I read Brown’s Angels & Demons, and to be quite honest, I didn’t enjoy it (even though the subject matter was fascinating). Seriously, I hope it pulls people into the bookstores and is good for the industry, but I always have trouble understanding how certain books become a phenomenon and other much more worthy books and writers get missed and thrown to the remainder rack... oh well, it's summertime! Get outside, enjoy the weather, and read some books!

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twitter me this?

A book blogger hits the twitter!

Follow me:
@madnessabides
http://twitter.com/MadnessAbides

OK, I am not original, and in a way it feels as if I am a bit late to the party, but so be it... you can now follow me on twitter. I will be keeping my tweets as light and fun as possible.

a Book Glutton I am

Seeing this post over at Book Chase got me thinking a little about my book buying (I believe the question originally came from Booking Through Thursday)...

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? ? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

As you may have guessed, I am an unashamed book glutton. I purchase more books than I can read. I own a lot more books than I have read (probably enough to cover me for a lifetime of reading) and have no intentions of stopping my current book buying practices... I probably buy 3 or 4 books for every book I read.

After reviewing my LibraryThing library, I have come into possession of a total of 88 books so far this year (my “2009” tag is used for books purchased this year, not read this year)... way more than I have read, and more than I will read this year. There are even a few I have absolutely no intention of reading. Now granted, a lot of these were purchased for $.50 or $1 at book sales so I do not feel bad about getting a bit gluttonous when it is only for a couple bucks. The place where book gluttony does get a little concerning for me is with the purchase of new books (at full retail prices)... when buying new books I do tend to purchase only what I “plan” on reading sometime in the near future. Leaving a used bookstore with a bag full of books for $15 or $20 really lends itself better to gluttony than leaving a big box bookstore with 2 books for $50. My latest purchases - both which I intend to read sometime soon - The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick and City at the End of Time by Greg Bear - were purchased new from the store this weekend, and thus I do not consider them gluttonous purchases.

So yes, a book glutton I am, and will likely always be... part of my justification for buying more than I consume in books is that it is almost an insurance policy - who knows what the future may hold, and if the worst happens and my income is dramatically decreased for some reason, I at least do not have to worry about not having anything to read close at hand. This tendency even extends itself to comic books as I have a rather large stack of graphic novels waiting to be read (although, in this case, I believe they all will be read). My gluttonous behavior is limited to books, and as far as other media is concerned, such as music and movies, my purchases are limited to what I consume - if I buy a movie, I watch it - if I buy an album, I listen to it - but when I buy a book, I may never read it.

When it comes down to it, I love books as much as I love to read, and sometimes more... us book gluttons might be a very real contributing factor in helping the industry stay semi-afloat nowadays, and an argument can be made that the book industry takes us for granted, charging ever increasing prices, and flooding us with endless and unnecessary hype - although, I suppose, that argument is best left for a different post.

The Song is You by Arthur Phillips

As an iPod (and now iPhone) addict, this is a book I thought would be up my reading alley of interests. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips is a book very much of our times... written in a splendid and moving style, it is a book about love, obsession, and the role technology can play in relation to those timeless emotions. Anyone with an extensive music collection who has placed significant meaning onto songs (and what song the shuffle chooses for you) can find something to relate to in The Song is You. Phillips’ novel follows Julian Donahue as he ipods his way through his life - good, bad, and indifferent, all these times have their song and the memories that song invokes.

Julian’s life is not at a high point when he hears Cait O’Dwyer sing in a New York bar. Julian becomes obsessed with Cait and her music and the story follows from there. Phillips’ writing is a fine thing and this book’s ability to comment meaningfully on the above mentioned love and obsession is noteworthy. Philips also has way with emotions which at times can be quite moving. Often when I read a book with such enjoyable prose, the story somehow falls flat for me - fortunately, The Song is You is an exception to this (I am sure my love of music certainly played a role here).

Arthur Phillips writes a sad and beautiful book with humor and playfulness. The love of music is evident within this book, as well as an understanding and description of emotion that is quite extraordinary. My only real complaint about the novel (and it is a very small one) is that, while I enjoyed it, and do recommend it, I am not sure if it is one which will read well in 15 years... The use of today’s technology is akin, in my opinion, to reading a sci-fi novel set in 1997. At some point this novel runs the possibility of becoming as obsolete as the technology we consider commonplace today. In short, the books hook (ok, maybe not its “hook”, but an aspect of the story), its modern sensibility, may also be its biggest obstacle to longevity - although, I hope this is not this case as it deserves to be read. Check it out when you get a chance - I know I will be looking into Arthur Phillips’ previous novels.

lazy blogger too...

Yep, me again, filled with excuses as to why no good posts have been posted up here recently - ok, actually only one excuse - I’ve been wicked sick and busy at work (not a good combination). After a nice weekend away with friends I got home to a really really bad cold (saying it is the swine flu just seems too sensational) which kept me out of work, and in bed, for two days... and once I get into work, boy oh boy was there work to do! Anyway, a weekend spent with good friends seeing the Dead for two nights at the Spectrum in Philly + two days spent in bed with a possible case of a topical sickness + work work work = not whole a lot of book bloggin’ time.

Although, I did follow my own advice and made the time to hit up a comic shop for free comic book day - being away from home, I didn’t get to experience my local comic book shop’s kickass free comic book day sale, but instead I went to the store that was closest to me on Saturday (that we could find and was open)... South Philly Comics was that shop. It was a nice small clean store with a decent enough selection, and most importantly they were giving out free comic books! What’d I get? Well, I picked up DC Kids and Cars for my son, and Blackest Night #0 for me. All in all, there was a pretty nice selection of free comic books offered this year; I'd suggest you stop by your local comic shop to see what kind of leftovers they might have.

So there you have it for now... more book stuff soon.

Free Comic Book Day!

Tomorrow is FREE Comic Book Day! Yes, show up at a participating comic shop and get FREE comic books! What could be better than that?



Free Comic Book Day is a great thing for lovers of graphic storytelling (this is about as much of a geek holiday as you are going to find), people who have never read a comic book, those who might want to rekindle their youth when they read comic books, parents and grandparents looking to have a fun little excursion with the kids, and, well, just about everyone! Please do yourself a favor and go to a comic book store tomorrow (make sure they are a participating location - there is a FCBD Shop Locator on the official site, along the left hand side).